craptacular - 2014-10-25 that was a breath of fresh air. no flashy editing, quick cuts, or in-your-face reaction shots. and pepin is skilled! i'm gonna go watch more of this

fluffy - 2014-10-26 Pépin is one of my favorite cooking show hosts of all time. He has such a wonderfully gentle way of talking about things, and he's much more interested in teaching technique and understanding than about specific recipes. And the shows with guests almost always feel like you're just hanging out with a couple of old friends and having brunch.

infinite zest - 2014-10-26 A friend of mine who's the head chef at one of the highest rated restaurants in town was telling me how they refused Diners Drive in and Dives from doing a segment there, even though that's sort of the culinary equivalent of getting a 9 out of 10 on Pitchfork. Bro just comes in, takes a bite and has some stupid catch phrase. I did like early Iron Chef, because enough was explained where I could envision myself making such a thing given the right ingredients, but the new shows are just food porn and I'm glad to see a reactionary movement in the restaurant industry to them.

fluffy - 2014-10-26 Do they even show cooking shows on Food Network anymore? The last few times I've looked they were doing nothing but marathons of Chopped and DD&D, and all of the shows that actually taught you anything about anything were now on "Fine Living Network" which costs extra.

Of course Pépin has been doing PBS shows for decades, now, and for a while he was cohosting with Julia Child. In his little pleasant reminiscences he always talks about things he used to do with Julia. It's wonderful.

infinite zest - 2014-10-26 Yeah I guess those shows aren't really "cooking" shows, just food showcases or competitions. Chopped can be mildly entertaining, especially when they have to make desert out of something that reminds me of Homer's Patented Moon Waffles but the rest is just stupid (although I will admit to binging on Man Vs. Food one time when I was snowed in at my in-laws house..)

fluffy - 2014-10-27 Just the name of "Man vs. Food" epitomizes the problem with that show. You're not supposed to have an antagonistic relationship with basic sustenance!